Once Upon a Vivid Memory
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: Before moving to Waffle Island, Farmer Richter went down to the local beach to have a peaceful day by himself, only find himself meeting a stranger from out of town. She was a strange, but interesting sort. He didn't expect to see her again on the island.


**_Obligatory Disclaimer:_**_ I don't own Harvest Moon, as if you didn't know that already. But this is a required formality, so there you go._

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**Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility**

**Once Upon A Vivid Memory  
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It was an odd Summer Day that I found myself wandering the local beach of my hometown. I figured I would just let loose, relax, and even take a swim to cool off in the hot weather by myself; however, instead I felt another presence nearby. Still, this was my usual place for "me" time and thought perhaps it was the same case for the stranger.

Again, I was wrong.

The figure walked closer and closer towards me until it was finally in clear view, and that clear view revealed to me a woman.

Apparently, she was wandering barefoot on the burning sand for one thing. Aside from that, she appeared to be wearing a dark long jean skirt along with a sleeveless white blouse. I can't quite recall the face right now, but I remembered something about her eyes that stood out to me for some reason.

"Good day, stranger. I assume you to be a local, am I right? If so, could you perhaps tell me of any points of interest in this town I could see? Maybe even by the beach" she asked me without hesitation.

"Well, there is a museum downtown that has some historic stuff. Can't say much about this place except for the occasional high tide washing up some stuff." I answered back.

The young lady didn't look the least bit satisfied with my answers as she gave be a disappointed sigh. I can't blame her, seeing as how this isn't exactly the most exciting town you could hope to visit.

"No, that's okay. I already saw this Museum you mentioned. No offense, but it doesn't have anything different from the dozen or so I've visited in my travels. But thanks."

Despite the composure of her tone, she seemed awfully restless to me. Maybe she's really a thrill seeker at heart?

"Er, I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help." I decided to reply.

"No, you need not apologize. If there's anything that should be apologizing, it should be the world." She told me.

That last part threw me for a loop.

"There are all these wonders in this place we call the world, yet every single one of them is an inconvenience. They're either man-made creations too spread out and sedentary, treasures hidden too far beyond our reach, phenomenon that come along once a millennium, or they just don't last long enough to remain exciting. Can't you see it? All the romance and adventure in the world is being undercut by these hindrances." She continued.

Clearly, she sought all of this for herself, and by the looks of it, she has yet to fulfill her personal quest for wonder she seems so dead set on.

"…But then again, that is what makes them wonders to begin with, I suppose. The journey and experience are meant to be important as the destination, right? At least I'm finally getting out to see the world for myself and take a little breather from my parents for once."

I noticed an awkward smile as she brought up her parents. I assumed this was her first brush with independence, much like it was for me at the time. It looked like to me she was starting to get a little homesick, but was still determined to continue her exploration.

"…Though, I must say that I'm still not content with my travels." She suddenly added with a groan.

I couldn't help but accompany her last comment with a nervous chuckle. However, the subject of her parents in question were still in mind.

"Your parents? Were they really strict on you or something?" I asked.

The woman shook her head.

"Not really. More like overprotective of me in a strange way. They allowed me to try a bunch of things as a child.; you could even say I was a bit of a renaissance girl in my early childhood. The one issue they had with me is if I wandered off to far. First it was leaving the same room as one of them before it became an issue to leave house. It then went as far as leaving the district! You can imagine how hard they took it when I made this most recent choice." She said with a sigh.

"Well, they are your parents, after all. It's kind of their deal, no matter how old we get." I replied.

"I'm well aware of that, but it's really getting silly when I'm finally a bona fide adult. I'm not being some silly teenager claiming I can do anything and everything just because I've been stuck with puberty for a petty few years. I've actually managed plenty of responsibility on my own. I'm even taking care of my own expenses by doing a few odd jobs for the side. I've been taking care of myself all this time, and I doubt they've yet to realized I've grown up now! It's just… really frustrating for me when it really goes against my nature." She explained to me.

"Well, you do look pretty healthy," I replied.

"Thanks. I'm actually a bit hungry right now, but only because I spent a little more time than planned combing this beach for something exciting to see." She confessed.

"Then let's hope you finish up here before accidently starve yourself."

To my surprise, the woman actually giggled at the questionable humor of my comment.

"I'll do my best to remember my hunger." She said with a nod.

"So, have you at least kept some form of regular contact with your folks?" I decided to ask.

"That again?" she said with a frown. "Okay, fine, yes I have. Though more often than I'd like, but they have an uncanny talent at responding quickly, which I suspect was more by my Mom's effort. They keep asking me when I'll finally return home, but to be honest, I really don't have a set date in mind. As I said before, this exploration has been a bust so far, and I'd rather not return empty-handed."

"I see," I nodded understanding, "I hope you can come with one in mind. At least they sound like caring parents."

"Yeah," she nodded back at me, " I'd rather not bare the burden of having them worry over me so much… even when they still do it when I'm around."

The two of us shared a laugh after that. I guess this gripe about her parents was something that couldn't be fixed, but maybe she didn't mind it as much as her vocal protest suggested?

Frankly, I hadn't dealt with the over protectiveness growing up, but I think I could relate to her more recent issue with it. Probably even moreso with what I planned for in a few weeks: I was going to move to this new island with plenty of part-time opportunities to explore, and even a full-time farm to run for some startup income. My parents were worried about this sudden interest in the rural life, but I thought this was good opportunity for me. Besides, this Waffle Island place sounded like a nice getaway spot.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I lost my common courtesy there for a minute. What's your name?" she asked me.

"Oh. It's Richter. You can call me Richter." I shared with her, being painfully aware how redundant I just sounded.

She then gave me her own name in exchange, but I can't seem to remember that, too. These memory gaps have become a bit of a problem for me lately…

"Well Richter, for whatever reason we ended up meeting together, I'm thankful for it. I suppose I've found at least one thing worthwhile experience on this trip." She grinned.

"It's my pleasure, too." I answered.

"And, I'm sorry for this inconvenience, but I really must be off, now. This hunger is starting to get the best of me, and I better take care of it as soon as possible." She told me.

"Oh, well… nice talking to you, then. Maybe we'll meet again sometime?" I said with hope.

"I'd like that." She simply replied.

Although her answer was brief, the last smile she gave me had to have been the sweetest one she showed me. A shame I couldn't recall the rest of her face, but at I least I had that much to remember her by.

"Good Day to you, Richter. Until next time."

"Good Bye…"

After a long, long time, when she finally faded from view… I started wondering to myself:

Why didn't I at least offer to have lunch with her?

That question bugged for a long time…

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Some months later, I finally made it to Waffle Island, and after a stormy ride, no less! After a few more complications, I finally got my own house and started immediately on the farm. For awhile, I've been doing the grunt work in the morning while taking some odd jobs and meeting to the locals in the afternoon. I'd have to say my favorites so far are the night bartending job at the Sundae Inn, and the more recent Tailor Shop set up by two sisters and their grandma.

But today, it seems I'm in for something different, as it was announced that a new resident arrived on the Island.

Of course I was going to perform my usual obligation of scouring the residential areas to find this guy, but my morning business routine came first. After tending the fields and the animals, I took off towards the Ganache Mine to see if I could gather a few ores to update my tools. No sooner had I arrived, I found myself in the presence of a new face. Looks like I ended up saving time after all.

The new person was wearing matching khaki shirt and shorts with a green sweater underneath. She was also had on black leggings and a pair of green and white sneakers. When I looked up at the face, she had bobbed green hair that curled off to the side with a meatlic hairpin, and sharp, piercing jade eyes looking off to the side in a stoic expression. I was having a sense of déjà vu observing the face, although the round red glasses obscured the feeling.

When she finally looked at me in a return, a very familiar smile formed on her face.

"Oh my. Richter, is it? Looks like we meet again, after all."

So it was her. And after all this time, I finally remembered her name, too.

"Phoebe? What are you doing here? And are those glasses?" I asked in exasperation.

My old acquaintance decided to remove them for a moment and wipe of the lenses.

"Oh, these? If you were concerned about my eyesight, I was wearing contacts when we first met. I usually use those instead when I'm up and about, but when I'm back here, I find myself too caught up in nostalgia and go back to wearing these. I know it's a bad thing to do when doing things like mining, but glasses were the only option available to me back then. I should really change this habit of mine, but I just keep forgetting…" she explained to me.

"It could be worse, I guess. I mean, loosing a contact in the rubble could really make things difficult. At least glasses are bigger and easier to find." I suggested.

She giggled at my comment. Apparently, some of the things I say really are that amusing, even when I still question the humor in it.

"I see that part of you still hasn't changed," she replied in amusement, "As for the first question? If you haven't already figured it out from what I've implied, well, this my home. So, welcome to Waffle Island."

"Isn't it a little late for that?" I asked her in a dubious tone.

"Perhaps, but it doesn't to hurt to be just a little courteous, would it?" she retorted.

This was probably her most ironic statement, seeing how unusually straightforward she behaved.

"I guess. So… about your parents?"

"Right. You already know them as Barbara and Simon from the General Store. They really haven't changed much about their attitude towards my independence, but it was nice to see them again. Unfortunately, I haven't the money to pay for my own house yet, so I'm stuck living with them for the moment." She answered me with a nervous laugh.

Come to think of it, I did remember Ms. Barbara talking about a daughter who hasn't been around the island for awhile. It all makes sense now. She does seem like the overprotective type with that active and chipper nature of her's. Mr. Simon, on the other hand, never quite struck me that way.

"So I take it you'll be staying here, then?" I asked her.

"It seems so. After getting out for awhile, I decided that I wanted to return to my roots in mechanics. The workshop I set up downstairs was always my best working environment, and the Mines happened to be a convenient source of materials. Hopefully, I can put together something that can be really useful for my next outing."

"That sounds nice! Hey, since you seem to know your way around these mines, maybe you could even give me a few pointers in where to find the best ores? I've been here for a few seasons, but whenever I thought I found a hotspot, most of what I seem to get turn out to be junk. I'm having a hard enough time to find the right metals to improve my tools." I told her.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind. And while we're at it, maybe I can finally learn a little about you this time, Mr. Richter? If I recall correctly, our last meeting ended up being all about me before I was struck with hunger. It would only be fitting if you returned the favor, am I right?

"Er…okay." I said with a shrug.

"Then we're settled! It's a pleasure to finally see you again, Richter."

"Same here."

Afterward, the two of exchanged a hearty handshake before moving on to new business.

And I must say, after getting another direct look at her eyes, I believe I've learned something new about myself with this reunion:

I think I may have a glasses fetish…


End file.
